How Do You Really Know Your Little One Is Eating The Right Foods For Optimum Life & Growth? Daily Food Planning Is Key.

Being a Mum is tricky and quite often we go without so that we can ensure our mini us' are more than well provided for but how many of us are guilty of grabbing them "quick" and "easy" foods on the run without actually knowing what is hiding in their food in the form of sugar, preservatives and even chemicals? # ................it is actually really easy to plan ahead of time and make healthy foods to take with us to wherever we end up......... not to mention it is so much cheaper!

I have been meal planning for months now on a weekly food roster which I change every month and it is working so well! I have done alot of research into the Australian Dietary Guidelines ( and New Zealand) so that my wee ones are being fed foods from each of the 5 food groups every day which are:

vegetables

fruits

grains

meats/ eggs/ poultry/ fish/ legumes/ nuts and seeds

milk/ dairy products

These 5 food groups contain foods which are classed as everyday foods and contain nutrients which are essential for development and growth of our bodies. Each nutrient plays a different and special part in ensuring our body functions adequately.

As well as making sure that we are offering our babes the correct foods for their growing bodies to develop we need to also offer them different textures and tastes and keep their food exciting. The food they eat from a young age will really impact on the way they choose to eat in their later life and the more greens we can pump into them early, the more they will want to eat when they themselves are trying to get their babies to learn to eat properly!

I have included a sample menu of this month for my children which I have marked beside the food groups they come under to tally up at the end of each day.........it may seem like a lot of food but all hot meals and cakes can be frozen (or chucked into a container and taken on the run) and they only need a serving of each food and a child's serving is not that much! The hubby can also take some of these meals to work or the whole family can also have for dinner! Winning!!!

(You never know when visitors are going to turn up and how great is it to be able to offer them and their darlings some healthy goodness?).

If you want some help or advice in planning your child's daily meals then let me know any allergies or cultural or personal preferences and I will get back to you! :)

Note: Fruit Platter = any in season fruit that I have at the time and cut up on a plate and arranged into shapes!